Millennials are optimistic about owning a home, with six-out-of-10 believing they will be able to buy a house in the future, according to a survey by Royal LePage.

In the survey of 2,003 Canadians aged 26 to 41, 68 per cent of non-homeowners say buying a house is an important life goal to them.

The report, released on Wednesday, found there could be a surge of millennials looking to buy a home in the next few years. Across the country, more than four million individuals (51 per cent) are planning buying a house within five years.

"Policy makers should take note that between millennial demand, immigration and the growing pipeline of those who could not transact over the last two years, more supply is required,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, in the press release.

“We could see another surge in price appreciation, following short-term economic softening, when these sidelined purchase intenders transact."

 

COST OF LIVING CONCERNS

According to the survey, 72 per cent of Canadian millennials would want to buy a home in their current city, if the cost of living was not a problem.

Canadians living in Vancouver (58 per cent), Montreal (54 per cent) and Toronto (48 per cent) are the most concerned that their current salaries will not increase enough to be able to buy a home in their current area.

 

PRIORITIZING REMOTE WORK

The survey found 40 per cent of millennials would find a new job if that meant they could work remotely.

The top motivators include cutting back commuting costs and time spent in traffic, while also being able to manage household duties while working from home.

"Currently the largest proportion of our population, and so arguably the most impactful, millennials are a resilient group who are willing to make the necessary sacrifices in order to reach this milestone,” Soper said.

Methodology

An online survey of 2,003 Canadian millennials aged 26-41 was completed between June 10, 2022, and June 16, 2022, using Leger's online panel. Weighting has been employed to ensure that the sample composition accurately reflects the adult population of Canada, as per the latest Census Data. No margin of error can be associated with a non-probability sample (i.e. a web panel in this case). For comparative purposes, though, a probability sample of 2003 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.